Hurricane Season

Prepping Your Residents

By Erica Rascón on Aug 27, 2015 in News

Hurricane season is upon us, and it will linger until the end of November. Fortunately for the continental US, the storms seem to have forgotten their curtain call! It’s unlikely that their delay will last forever, though. Use this downtime to make sure that your residents are prepared for nature’s fury.

Make hurricane preparedness fun!

While written information is helpful, it’s unlikely that residents will read it thoroughly and commit it to memory. What they will remember is a fun game night. Consider hosting a trivia night (one for families and a separate event for adults if your budget can swing it). Games make life-saving lessons memorable and prizes are a good incentive that boosts participation.

Think of your prizes as an opportunity. Practical prizes can be fun if they look cool enough. A roll of duct tape is always helpful but it has zero aesthetic appeal, right? A snazzy water bottle with built-in filter, rugged multitool, and a cleverly designed LED flashlight are more eye-catching and still useful. The grand prize could include a complete preparedness kit, which has significant monetary value and can also save lives. Bonus: such utilitarian expenses are more easily approved by your controller. Get creative!

Post evacuation plans.

Make sure that building evacuation plans are clearly posted on each floor of each building. Also consider emailing residents a copy of the city evacuation routes. It’s unlikely that they will bother looking at it when you send it, but they may just save it for future references.

Danger begins with the surge.

Think projectiles and high winds are a hurricane’s greatest threats? Guess again. Storm surges take more lives than winds and debris. A storm surge can exceed 20 feet. That’s a wall of water two stories high; most Atlantic and Gulf Coast properties are built less than ten feet above mean sea level! Storm surges precede the hurricane by a matter of hours and get progressively more intense. Even when the hurricane’s expected landfall is hours away, advise residents to avoid going outside to capture photo or video of the storm. Facebook can wait.

Minimize damages.

Home supply stores sell out quickly during inclement weather. Being buying supplies in advance, little by little. Stock up on plywood, nails, and other materials that can help you fortify your property. Clean gutters and downspouts, and tend to arbors and shrubs. When leading by example, you can encourage your residents to take storm preparation seriously. They may begin to prepare themselves.

Don’t forget tornado preparedness!

Where there are hurricanes, tornadoes are likely to follow. While many emergency preparedness tips are similar for both storms, it could be helpful to distribute info relevant to tornado warnings and ratings.

Stay informed.

During a disaster, you won’t have time to play the middleman. Feed info directly to your social media outlets and website via NOAA National Weather Service. The organization offers resources and updates via Facebook, Twitter, Podcasts and radio.